A Geek in Shining Armour
by touche1
Summary: Nell has a little problem. She also has people who would do anything to help her. Team fic with a Nell/Eric undertones.


**Authors Note: This unfinished story had been lying around for a while and it took the perfection of Raven and the Swans to get it completed and out there. Team fic leaning towards Nell/Eric**

**As always, reviews would be greatly appreciated.**

* * *

When Nell walked into the NCIS Office of Special Projects late one morning, no one considered it unusual. After all, there are a hundred things that can cause delays while coming to work. Sleeping through your alarm, traffic snarls during the LA rush hour, an unexpected flat tire. Hetty gave her a raised eyebrow, Kensi gave her a nod and Eric gave her a light punch on the shoulder. No one gave it a second thought. It was nothing to make a big deal of.

Except that Nell Jones was never late. She would usually be the first one of the team to reach work, very occasionally pipped to the post by Eric, and that too only because he was always Hetty's first call when there was a new case. She was scrupulous about not staying out late on work nights, had two different alarm systems to wake her up and left for work well in time to not only beat traffic, but also ensure that she had time in hand to combat unexpected emergencies.

Which was why when she turned up late for the second day in a row, she wasn't surprised to hear her name called out just as she was taking the first step on the stairs up to ops centre.

"Miss Jones, a word."

Nell closed her eyes and cringed a bit before turning to march towards Hetty's desk. From the corner of her eye she could see Eric standing upstairs with his tablet in his hand looking at her. She could feel the eyes of the rest of the team in the bullpen follow her as well as she came to a halt in front of the dimunitive Operations Manager.

"You wanted to see me Hetty?" Nell asked brightly with what she hoped was a winning smile on her face.

"I was wondering Miss Jones, is everything all right?"

"Everything is absolutely fine. No problems at all. I have the Overwatch Data Retrieval and Analysis Program up and running and I've almost completed my research on..."

"I'm not talking about your work Miss Jones," Hetty interrupted, one eyebrow raised. "But I suspect you already knew that."

Nell sighed before replying. "I know. I'm sorry I'm late Hetty, it won't happen again."

"Your tardiness is not of primary concern to me Miss Jones. It is the reason behind it that I'm worried about. I hope you understand that if there is anything serious, you would be wise to let us know."

"Yes Hetty. But there's really nothing to be concerned about."

"Well then, I shall take your word for it. Could I interest you in a cup of Oolong?"

"I should really be getting back to work, if its all right with you."

"By all means Miss Jones. Carry on."

As Nell hurried up the stairs and went into the ops centre, Eric tagging along behind her, Deeks turned to Kensi in the bullpen.

"What was that about? Nell actually turns up for work later than me two days in a row? You think its serious?"

"You mean if she's ill or something?" Kensi asked

"No, I mean if she's seriously seeing someone. Two night in a row, staying up so late that you can't get up on time in the morning. Seems like the most logical explanation."

"Get your mind out of the gutter Deeks." Kensi admonished as she puched his arm. "Just because you're not capable of controlling your carnal urges, doesn't mean that everyone is irresponsible enough to put casual sex above their job."

"Hey, I never said casual sex. I was actually talking about a deep meaningful relationship. But funny how that's the first thing that came to your mind." Deeks grinned at Kensi and gave her a wink, earning himself another punch.

* * *

The next morning all four field agents got a call early in the morning asking them to meet up directly at a crime scene before reporting to the mission. By the time they had finished their preliminary investigation and come back to report to Hetty it was past lunchtime. They completed their debrief in the ops centre, and made their way back downstairs to the bullpen, only to find Eric following them down.

"What's up? Something we missed?" Callen asked, surprised to see the tech in the bullpen. Eric rarely left ops unless he had to. He had configured the entire environment in the room to his exact specifications, from the temperature and humidity right down to the colour and intensity of the lighting and everyone knew that he felt physically uncomfortable when he was out of his natural habitat.

"Guys, Nell showed up late for work again today. I'm worried!"

The two pairs of partners exchanged meaningful glances between themselves. They all suspected that Eric had a thing for Nell and if she was actually getting late everyday because she was seeing someone the previous night, they were wondering how to break the news to him.

Kensi finally decided to bite the bullet. "Well, have you considered that it might not actually be something to worry about? Maybe she just had a couple of late nights."

"Three late nights in a row? You know she would never do that. This is super-responsible, Hetty's-pet Nell we're talking about here." said Eric

Kensi gave Deeks a look that clearly said "Say something. How is it that you're silent only when you shouldn't be?". Deeks nodded resignedly and cleared his throat. "Umm.. Eric, buddy... you know how it is... sometimes you lose track of time. You don't realize how late it is, and you don't really think about sleeping... falling asleep.. especially if you're... not alone."

"Why would Nell be not.. Ohhhh!" Eric's eyes opened wide and then a thoughful expression appeared on his face. "Well, if you guys think she's seeing someone, that's not the case."

"How do you know?" Callen asked, his eyes narrow.

"I just know okay? Nell is like my partner, I spend all day working with her. I know the signs, I know how to tell when she's happy or sad or disturbed.. just as I would know if she were seeing somebody."

"Hmm.. are you sure its not just... I don't know... denial?" Kensi said, almost whispering the last word.

"I'm sorry?" Eric looked more than a little taken aback

"What she means is" said Sam, coming to the rescue, "maybe you're giving yourself too much credit about how well you know her. Nell can be pretty inscrutable if she wants to. Maybe she just wants to keep something from you and you're reading the signs wrong."

Eric chuckled and rolled his eyes. "Really? This, coming from you guys? Okay Sam, tell me this. Last Tuesday you told me to make sure that that day's casework was filed in time because Callen was planning on staying back late to finish his operations reports. How did you know that?"

"He took his 4'o'clock coffee black with a double shot. He only does that when he has something boring to do later and he needs to stay alert." Sam smiled as Callen gave him an incredulous look.

"And Callen, why did you offer to do Sam's paperwork that day last month so that he could leave early even though he never asked you to?"

It was Callen's turn to smile now. "He had a weird expression on his face in the car that day, like he was listening intently to the engine sound. I couldn't hear anything wrong but I knew he wouldn't go to sleep before he checked it out thoroughly. He would have had a very late night if he had had to stay back to finish his paperwork."

"Right! Kensi, why did you get fish tacos for everyone's lunch two weeks ago? I seem to remember that you're not particularly fond of them."

"What?" Kensi seemed to be at a loss for words. "I just felt like them that day."

"Kensi?" Eric asked again with raised eyebrows.

Looking at the floor, Kensi said in a very small voice "Because Deeks only wears his favourite old jeans with his comfortable red flannel shirt when he's hurting from a bruise or if his bullet wound is acting up and I wanted to get lunch that would make him feel better."

Deeks was staring at Kensi, but she was still giving the floor her undivided attention. Eric continued, "And Deeks, why is it that you always stock up your chocolate and candy stash around the 15th of... "

"Whoa... okay, okay... all right, we get it." Deeks hastily stopped him, his cheeks turning red as Kensi's head snapped up, a quizzical look in her eyes. "All of us know our partners and you know Nell very well too. So what do you expect from us? You want us to interrogate her? Wouldn't it be better if you asked her, seeing how you are her partner."

"I did ask her. Which is why I'm worried. She totally avoided the question, but it almost seemed like she was afraid of something." Eric looked serious again. "I just though maybe Kensi could talk to her. You know, womanly sympathy and all that."

"Oh! Kensi and womanly sympathy so do not belong in the same sentence!" began Deeks with a grin before a glare from Kensi stopped him.

"I can be sympathetic when I want to. I just show it to people who will actually appreciate it." she said. "All right Eric, I'll talk to her. But I'll decide whether to tell you or anyone else about what she tells me."

"That's fine. I just want her to get it out. I can see that its eating her up inside." said Eric, looking relieved.

That evening as the team was leaving, Kensi linked her arm through Nell's and pulled her aside.

"Hey, I was thinking, we haven't really hung out, just the two of us, in so long." Kensi said.

"Yeah. Not since the monster truck rally was in town." Nell replied with a smile. "Of course, you have been a little preoccupied, seeing how you spend time with Deeks even after work almost every day and most weekends."

"I'm sorry, what?" Kensi seemed genuinely surprised.

"Kensi, you seriously haven't realized?" Nell was grinning now. "Its like you guys are glued at the hip."

"No, we're not! I do plenty of things on my own. Just last weekend I... well, Deeks did join me halfway through, but that was just because he called when I was already at the farmer's market. But the week before that... or was it..." Kensi paused again, deep in thought as Nell watched her with an amused expression. "Yes! Four weeks ago I went to Venice beach and did some shopping and ate ice cream. All by myself." Kensi announced truimphantly.

"Yeah, I was so wrong! You guys are clearly not seeing enough of each other." said Nell with a sarcastic roll of her eyes.

"Anyway, I just wanted to see if you were free today. You know, you and me, a few drinks, catching up on life..." said Kensi.

"I'd love to Kensi, but I really have to... take care of something."

The slight hesitation and the flicker of a worried expression that passed through Nell's eyes was enough to immediately convince Kensi that Eric's suspicions had been right. She decided to approach the topic head on.

"Nell, is something going on? It seems like there's something bothering you. Does it have anything to do with why you're coming late to work?"

Nell was silent for a minute before replying. "Okay Kensi, I'll tell you, but you cannot tell anyone else. I want to sort this out on my own."

"Sure. Just tell me what the matter is."

Nell sighed and lauched into her story. "Its my landlord. Well, my actual landlord is a sweet old man, this guy is his son. He's been really giving me a lot of trouble lately. You know how much I love my apartment. Its just right for me, its close enough to work, its got all the important places within walking distance. Plus I love my little sun-deck. Now my landlord's son wants to kick me out and give the apartment to his mistress so that he can meet her on the downlow whenever he wants. But there's no way I'm giving up my pretty little apartment. And he can't kick me out unless he can prove that I've broken a rule or done something illegal. So he's been resorting to shady tactics to catch me off guard. Last week I found a marijuana plant on my window sill next to the fire escape. Luckily I had disposed of it when he came knocking on my door threatening to call the cops. For the past three days, I've been coming out of my apartment in the morning to find the fire alarm smashed. Every day I have had to stay back and call the super to fix it and wait till it is done. Which is why I've been coming late. Tonight I plan to install a second fire alarm just inside my hallway so that even if he breaks the one outside the door, there's a backup and I'm not breaking the rules."

"Nell this is serious. Just say the word and we'll pay him a visit. One look at Sam and he won't dare to bother you again."

"No Kensi, that's exactly what I don't want. He could go to the cops with a tale of how I sent someone to intimidate him. That will be enough to get me kicked out."

"That's why we have Deeks. We can pull strings with LAPD. All of us have contacts we can make use of. Hell, if you tell Hetty this, the guy will probably find himself on the next flight to Gitmo."

Nell chuckled at the thought of Hetty putting in a call to SecNav and getting an innocent guy arrested on charges of domestic terrorism to save her apartment. "No Kensi. I really want to sort this out on my own. Promise me that you won't do something silly like showing up at his door with a lock-pick and a shotgun."

"All right Nell. I promise. But you will let us know if this gets worse, right?"

"I will." Nell promised. "See you tomorrow then." Nell walked away towards her car, leaving Kensi behind with a thoughful expression on her face.

* * *

The next day, Eric was waiting at Kensi's desk when she walked in. No one else was in yet and Kensi had been expecting Eric to question her in the morning.

"Well?" he asked.

"You were right, she is bothered by something, but she doesn't want anyone to know about it."

"Come on Kensi. If she's in trouble, we should be helping her out."

"I know, but she was very clear. She wants to handle it on her own."

"Fine, but at least tell me what the problem is."

"Sorry Eric. Can't do that. She told me in confidence and I'm sure I would be violating some female-bonding confidentiality thing if I told you."

"Really? How many female friends do you have Kensi? How many females do you bond with?"

"Shut up Eric. I can't tell you. I'm sorry."

Eric paused for moment, thinking about something.

"Okay then. Guess I'll just have to tell Deeks what you write in that journal of yours."

"What?" Kensi looked up so quickly she almost got a crick in her neck.

"Yeah, you know... if you have a female-bonding thing, then I think according to the bro code I have to tell Deeks what you write about him in your journal."

"You're bluffing!" said Kensi, her eyes wide in horror. "There's no way you've read my journal."

"Please, Kensi" said Eric, with a smirk on his face. "You're talking to a guy who can break the Pentagon's encryption in seconds. You think your little password protected file on a network laptop is a challenge for me?"

Kensi narrowed her eyes and stared at Eric, who held her gaze and stared right back. The staring match continued for a couple of minutes before Kensi finally broke.

"All right. I'll tell you. But you can't do anything about it. And you definitely can't tell Nell that I told you."

"Or course" said Eric as he pulled up a chair and sat down to listen to Kensi.

* * *

It was some ten days later that Nell pulled Kensi aside after one of the morning briefings in ops. Her eyes were shining and she seemed quite excited.

"So Kensi, remember that little thing I told you I was having trouble with?" she said.

"Yes?" Kensi replied, smiling at how happy Nell looked.

"Its taken care of." Nell continued. "He was starting to get quite bothersome, and I was almost considering going to Hetty with the problem, when suddenly things started to cool down. He stopped coming around to ask me to leave everyday and then yesterday when I ran into him on the street he was looking a little troubled. So I took my chance and I told him straight to his face that there was no way I was leaving my apartment and if he had a problem with it, we could sort it out in court. And all he said was that he didn't want me to leave at all and that I could stay there as long as I wanted. Isn't that great?"

"It sure is" Kensi looked a little sceptical, but didn't say anything further.

"Hah, I can't tell you how relieved I am. I've gotta run now, lots of stuff to incinerate. But how about drinks tonight? On me?"

"Sure Nell. Sounds good." Kensi replied as the energetic little analyst hurried out of the room. She looked around ops centre and saw that the only other person there, as usual, was Eric.

"All right, Eric. What did you do?" Kensi asked.

Eric swivelled around in his chair, an innocent expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the crap Eric. There's no way someone who went through so much trouble to get Nell out gives up just like that. Now I know I didn't do anything and you are the only other person who knew about it. So... out with it Beale!"

Eric quickly checked to see if anyone else was within earshot and motioned Kensi to come closer.

"All right" he began in a low voice. "I went back to what I had learned about problem solving in my programming theory classes - about identifying the root of the problem first. I analysed this issue and realised that the actual problem was not the landlord's son, but his mistress. And then I remembered what one of my professors always used to say - ' The best way to solve the problem is to eliminate the problem'."

"What the hell did you do Eric?" said Kensi with a horrified expression. "Should I be checking morgues and LAPD's open murder cases?"

"Really Kensi? Well, actually I should have guessed that that would be the first thing to enter your head when I said 'eliminate'." Eric shrugged. "But no, I did not kill her. I just remotely accessed the phonebook of the guy's mobile and switched the phone numbers of his wife and mistress. I might also have sent some rather explicit messages. Of course, the wrong messages reached the wrong women. His wife found out that he was cheating on him and his mistress found out that his wife wasn't a frigid invalid but mother to two of his kids. Both of them gave him ultimatums. I knew he would never leave his wife, I found out through their bank records that she controls the money. Until his old man dies, she is his only source of income. So, exit mistress, eliminating the need to repossess Nell's apartment."

"I have to admit, that was a rather neat solution" said Kensi, impressed by the subtle way in which Eric had managed the situation. "Maybe we should tell Nell that you were her knight in shining armour."

It was now Eric who looked horrified "No way. If she ever comes to know that I meddled in her affairs, my life won't be worth living."

Kensi gave him an evil grin. "I don't know. I think she deserves to know. Maybe I'll tell her when I'm meeting her for drinks tonight."

"Kensi, you wouldn't!"

"You're right. I wouldn't. Not tonight anyway." Kensi gave Eric a dangerous glare. "But in return you'll make a high level encryption for my journal. And if I even hear a whiff of you telling Deeks what's in it, I spill the whole story to Nell."

Eric thought about it for a second before shrugging his shoulders and holding out his hand to Kensi. "You got a deal, Agent Blye."


End file.
